The Werewolf of Wolven Cove

by Warpmind de InzanE

**KEEPER INFORMATION**

It is encyclopedic in nature, and it contains multiple highly accurate descriptions of the monsters it mentions, including various means to counter them. Such as putting up the flowers of garlic (common mistake - often, people uses the cloves, but it is the flowers that are efficient) to repel vampires, or how silver is efficient against werewolves and how it is advisable to employ a mace or another blunt weapon against reanimated skeletons.

This book does also contain information on the plant wolfsbane, which can, by following a recipe in the book, actually counter the effect of a werewolf bite. This book, while vastly informative, is meant as a reference work, rather than a tome to be studied from cover to cover.

A thorough study of the book will take 1D8 weeks; just looking up one entry (such as in this case werewolves) will take 1D20 minutes, requiring a successful German roll. No sanity loss, Occult +1 percentile per entry OR Occult +15 for studying entire book.

THE CASE

Thirty years ago, in the little town of Wolven Cove, Pennsylvania, a werewolf frightened the locals for months in a row. Eventually, it was discovered that it was just three kids in an exceptionally well-made costume that were having a bit of fun with the local authorities.

Now, there are again werewolf sightings, and this time, the werewolf is followed by a pack of five or six large wolves. In truth, the werewolf that has been sighted is just the local dog breeder's son, Bob Haskett, who has made himself a werewolf costume, and wears it at night, while at the same time taking some captive, tame wolves for a walk.

The local dog breeder, Jim Haskett, is in on the scheme, but what neither of them knows is that one of their so-called wolves is, in fact, a real werewolf. However, the real werewolf is biding its time, planning to turn the whole village into werewolves; all it is waiting for is the Hasketts to trust it fully, and then it will make its move. It is insidious, sly and calculating; in full control of its metamorphosis, independent on the lunar cycles, and has some sort of mental control over three other wolves.

**PLAYER INFORMATION**

One of the investigators has just been called by a distant relative, who has heard rumors of the investigator's interest in the mysterious. this relative is the mayor of Wolven Cove. He will inform the investigators that he has a werewolf problem on his hands, and is willing to offer a substantial reward if the investigators can put an end to it.

WOLVEN COVE, PENNSYLVANIA

It is a small town where technology has yet to make its full assault on the townspeople. The first impression of the town is that it got stuck in the sixties and never quite caught up with the rest of the world. (It is not Amish, though there is a small Amish settlement 50 miles out of town.)

The locations of interest are the Inn, the Sheriff's Office, the Library, the Wolven Cove Tribune, the Haskett Kennel, the Doctor's Office, the Mayor's Office, the Henderson place and the Robbins place; the last of which is the home of Harvey Robbins, who was the sheriff when the last "werewolf" was rampaging.

WOLVEN COVE INN

If the investigators start asking questions about how the innkeeper can afford to run his inn without guests, he will become somewhat elusive and ambiguous; his moonshine is locally famous; just about every man in town gives it praise, including the sheriff, and if he suspects the investigators to be some sort of federal inspectors, he is likely to become a tad cautious without being hostile or throwing the investigators out. (After all, he needs the income.) If the investigators request a sample of his moonshine, however, and speak fondly of it, he will thaw up again and even mention old Robbins, who was the sheriff thirty years ago.

Jeremy and Joseph Henderson, who were two of the original werewolves thirty years ago, are regular bar patrons at the inn; they always drop by for a few glasses of the moonshine every day at 3 pm.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Sheriff Matthew F. Bluestone is a tall, skinny man, wary of anything that might disturb the peace in his cozy town. The werewolf rumors, while he doesn't believe much in them, are definitely such a disturbance, and he will be at the investigators' disposal for just about any legal matters. He is an intelligent man who has managed to aviod becoming cocky about it. He is well liked by everyone and is always cheerful. In fact, he was the one who initially convinced the mayor to call the investigators in the first place. Local law prohibits civilians from carrying firearms openly, but he will deputize the investigators for the duration of the case.

LIBRARY

With a successful Library Use roll, the library will yield Player Handout 1; a newspaper clipping about the old werewolf case. Another successful roll will yield Player Handout 2, which tells of when the old case was solved.

WOLVEN COVE TRIBUNE

The Wolven Cove Tribune is a typical small town newspaper, which actually still uses an old-fashioned press. Their stores of back issues only reach as far back as October 7th, 1986, due to a fire that took out most of the old buildings in town; buildings that have since been rebuilt exactly the way they were. For older news clippings, a visit to the library is necessary. A search through the archives will reveal Player Handout 3, provided a successful Library Use roll is made, at a +30 percentile bonus.

DOCTOR'S OFFICE

Doctor Jennifer Smith is a good-looking blonde woman in her early thirties; a well of good mood and genuine care for her patients. She will answer any questions truthfully, though it is rather unlikely that she will be of any help; she herself has not seen the werewolf, though, she has had a few patients with minor scratches sustained by tripping and falling, who have claimed to have been chased by it.

If asked, she may quirkily comment that it is a standing joke that every unmarried man has taken a sickday or two only to be medically examined. She is the younger sister of Freddie Smith, who was one of the original werewolves. If asked about him, she will sadly explain that he died in a traffic accident twenty years ago. She lives on the floor above the office; she prefers to have her apartment in direct connection to the office in case of emergency.

MAYOR'S OFFICE

Mayor Donald Henderson is a slightly overweight man, mainly due to his sweet tooth. But, while he has problems fighting that sort of temptation, he is utterly un-bribable, and can only be swayed by a highly persuasive person when he has set his mind to something. He is efficient, friendly, and helpful where he can be. He is a career politician of the rarest kind: if he says he'll do something, you can rely on it being done, even though it may take a little longer than planned to grease the cogs.

He personally saw the werewolf recently, and he can tell the investigators that it is indeed followed by four wolves; three of them appeared to be quite normal, but one of them was huge for a wolf; he speculates that it might only be half wolf, and half St. Bernhard or some other huge dog. He then refers the investigators to the Haskett Kennel, which might be able to tell more about wolves and dogs.

ROBBINS' PLACE

Harvey Robbins is a gray-haired old man who is quite content to tend his roses nowadays, and is not in the least worried by the so-called werewolf rumors. He will go on to tell the investigators about the three kids who were frightening the whole town; Freddie Smith, whose sister, by the way, is the town doctor, and the Henderson boys, Jeremy and Joseph. He will blatantly deny the existence of the supernatural. If asked about the whereabouts of Freddie Smith, he will tell the investigators that he died twenty years ago, in a mountain climbing accident.

HENDERSON'S PLACE

Jeremy and Joseph Henderson both work as lumberjacks out in the forest from 8 am to 2 pm, and then another shift from 4 pm to 7 pm. Between shifts, they take a drink or three at the inn, and at night they can be found in their own home. However, they go to sleep at nine pm, and will pretty much be impossible to awaken between 9 pm and 6 am.

They will admit to having been the original werewolves, but they will insist that the old costume was destroyed by the authorities, and that they have no idea whether the current werewolf is another hoax, or the real McCoy. They will confirm that Freddie Smith was the third member of their little crew, but that he died twenty years ago in a hunting accident.

HASKETT KENNEL

The kennel consists of thirty spacious cages, each holding a purebred dog of some breed. The Haskett kennel can provide dogs of any kind, and their dogs have sired puppies all over the USA. Jim Haskett, the owner, is privately proud of the wolves he has managed to capture and tame; they are held in secret cages indoors.

If asked about the werewolf, Jim Haskett will say he doesn't know anything; hasn't seen it or heard it. And Bob Haskett, his son, will say the same thing. However, a successful Psychology roll might reveal that the Hasketts aren't telling the truth. It will, however, not reveal precisely what they are lying about. The Hasketts have the following stats:

Jim Haskett

Dog breeder, male, age 43

STR: 7 DEX: 15 INT: 13 Idea: 65

CON: 9 APP: 12 POW: 7 Luck: 35

SIZ: 13 SAN: 35 EDU: 14 Know: 60

99-CM: 99 DamageBonus: None

SP: 35 MP: 7 HP: 11

Skills: Bargain 55%, Biology 30%, Computer Use 20%, Drive Auto 40%, First Aid 60%, Jump 30%, Listen 45%, Mechanical Repair 50%, Persuade 45%, Track 80%, Handle Canine 80%, Grapple 50%

Dog breeder, male, age 17

STR: 14 DEX: 13 INT: 14 Idea: 70

CON: 11 APP: 13 POW: 6 Luck: 30

SIZ: 13 SAN: 30 EDU: 11 Know: 55

99-CM: 99 DamageBonus: +1D4

SP: 30 MP: 6 HP: 12

Skills: Biology 40%, Drive Auto 30%, Hide 30%, Jump 50%, Listen 75%, Mechanical Repair 30%, Medicine 10%, Occult 10%, Ride 45%, Sneak 50%, Swim 55%, Track 30%, Handle Canine 50%, Grapple 50%

THE WEREWOLF

The werewolf is only out at night; if conducting a regular search, the investigators have a 20% chance of locating the werewolf every half an hour after sunset. If they have infrared sensors of some kind, they have a 45% chance of finding the werewolf every half an hour.

If the investigators find the werewolf, it will first try to chase them off, then, if that doesn't work, will for a moment stand still and stare at the investigators, then turn and run away. He will easily outrun the investigators, because he is acutely familiar with the landscape, and can

leap over any obstacles, while the investigators will occasionally trip and fall.

If one investigator fires a shot at the werewolf, and hits, he will hit Bob Haskett in the leg, causing him to fall and scream in pain. Then, he will fling insults at the investigators and remove his mask. If the investigators have deduced his identity, he will just remove his mask and admit defeat, but smugly comment that "it was fun while it lasted".

Either way, the REAL werewolf will transform into the wolf-man form and attack the investigators, presently ignoring Bob Haskett, who will faint from the shock. The real werewolf will use the normal wolves to attack with first, and, if they are defeated, will personally fight the investigators. Killing the real werewolf will release the regular wolves from its grasp, and they will run away into the wilderness.

Stats are as follow: